neil: account down is on. the world will end in nine days according to the minds. is the clock ticking? my customer believes it may be right. former house majority leader trying to figure out how we afte avoid armageddon but it is a moot point* if we are all.

dead in for gerri willis, less than 3 weeks before u.s. falls off the fiscal cliff, speaker john bain ser slamming the brakes on any hopes a deal is coming soon, making it clear both sides have differences. second in command, eric cantor warning members n to make any plan for holidays, and kevin brady of texas, vice chairman of joint economic committee, thank you, are we still that far apart? >> you know we are. i started optimistic to get this done before the holidays, but, i don't feel that way, it seems to me the decision has been made, perhaps by white house to take us off this fiscal cliff. i think this is irresponsible to do it we're ready to work out a reasonable sound solution but i do not see that coming from the other side right now.

tracy: is it because there is so much going on behind scenes. they think there is a lot of secret wheeling and dealing with john boehner and the president do you agree? >> i do not, i think he -- they have been sporadic talks, i know speaker boehner has been frustrated with how slow the responses have been. again, you know, not just tax rates it is authentic spending cuts, if we don't find a way to face social security and medicare we'll face a downgrade in the future. tracy: is there talk about entitlement reform. >> republicans have laid out prosals to sustain the important programs, as you know senate democrats have said it taken off the table. nancy pelosi is pushing back on that, i don't know how he keep

ducking as a nation ways to save those programs, we're taking the position to tackle the tough issues and now. tracy: have you seen latest proposal that john boehner gave to the white house yesterday? >> i have not, but i know general outlines, and i do not see movement on real spending cut. certainly not the entitlement reforms we're all hoping for. tracy: what happens then, we go over the cliff. everyone goes in a panic mode. in 't a lot of -- understand that a lot of things will be retro active to january 1st but particular reek havoc on the economy. >> the economy is flying low and slow, turbulence from the congress and the president does not make sense, seems we should come together now, well before the holidays, reself the issue, and i think that a clean credible bridge into next year, that extends tax rates, and sets a firm deadline for fundamental

reform, and entitlement reform and addresses some automatic spending cuts, seems that is a reasonable solution. tracy: again, every saying we're miles apartment what do you think it will take to get us there, are the republicans going to have to concede a little? >> i think we have in the issue of tax revenue. which we think economic growth, done right, generates a lot of new tax revenue, for example, higher tax rates, pay for 8 days of federal spending, but getting us back to t 2008 pre-recession revenue levels cuts the deficit by more than half wehink that is the right balance coupled with, as you guess, spending caught cuts that matter. tracy: yet have you nancy pelosi equating the republicans to nero, fiddling with the fires, which is inaccuracies history, she missed her history class, we're name-calling, that is what we're down to, it seems feus fed

futile for those of us watching at home. >> there is a solution that does include additional tax revenue, at the end of the day is a win for the president, higher tax rates is bad for the economy. >> you are so logical sir, you should have been in the office with the president, the fed act today, i continue is no surprise, are we doing more damage than gd-bye continues to pump liquidity into the economy? >> i think we are overtime, if the fed keeps running the same monetary play we'll get the same economic reports, which is a very slow, very irregular recovery, with the uncertainty still in place because of the white house talking of higher taxes, and president's new healthcare law, and a tsunami of new regulations seems that feds

act is adding more uncertainty to the process, we don't need more liquity we need fiscal solutions. tracy: thank you congressman brady. >> thank you, tracy. tracy: coming up in a half hour, we take congress and the president to believe it or not, divorce court. quite familiar with the place. >> we'll get advice from famed divorce attorney vicky ziegler on when both sides should to to reach a deal, and what you think, does congress need counselling to reach a fcal cliff deal? log to and vote. we'll share the results with you at the end of the sw. >> federal reserveinishing up its last meeting of the year today, saying they will extend an expiring treasury buying program, keeping the rates at a history low level.

here with details, fox business' peter barnes, you were in that meeting with chairman ben bernanke, did you not want to scream? >> i am a fed head from way back, this was really the most remarkable thing, i have ever covere we were expecting the fed to do this latest round of quantitative easing, and more bond buying, you know qe4 -- ever is the big choke in town. but a new change, a new roll see, that is the economy does x the fed will do y, in this case the fed said it will keep interest rates low for car loans, and mortgages and business lns until, at least until unemployment hits 6.5%, that is the first time that we've seen the fed do this kind

of thing in its hundred year history. >> he did couch it a little, my decision was. well what if we get that 6.5%. >> that right, labor force participation rate, how many people who go into the labor force, and actually look for a job verse those who drop out, he addressed that, he said this is a guideline, we're not going to make this hard and fast. we'll look at other things like, payroll hours, and pay and wages, and the number of people who are droppin in and out of the workforce, when we look at this, so he anticipated that criticism. and tried to address it. tracy: but saying there is a lot of wiggle room with the variables they just added. >> but still the idea is to give people more certainty about what they can expects from the fed. and will technical terms, a

respond function, how will people respond to things if they know more about them? more transparency, it is an evolution in the new world that the fed has taken on with new policy tools, and new too in the tool kit to dry to get the economy back to track, in particular to help get job creation going. tracy: that is my question, so they have the -- does the job rate as know their parameter, what does the feed do to create jobs, nothing. >> it is punting it against back to i guess, congress? >> and he got a critical question about, that one of the reporters from "new york times" said mr. chairman you've been doing this kind of tng for last three years, and you shill have not achieved your goals, he admitted their economic predicts have been overly optimistic, that is a big risk here.

tracy: so many tools, it confuses me, but we have our fine fed head peter barnes to straighten it out for us, thank you. >> thank you, tracy. tracy: if you are fired up about this as i am, or any other issues on this program, drop the show an e-mail. >> coming up, on the willis report, showdown raging in the heard land is not over yet. we ask our panel what is next for state and unions. >> and next year is all about these words for big banks, red tape, one guest thinks thi is regulation way overdue. also, today we'll be putting our top lawmaker through divorce court, trust us, this is

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tracy: big labor is reeling. michigan deemed itself a right-to-work state. with legal cllenges and recall efforts already in the air, what is next for the state? does this mark the beginning of the end for unions? let's ask james shirk, and chip merlin. chip i'm going with you first, everyone wants to know the legal ramifications, can the unions come back to appeal this. >> they can try to appeal, whether not they would win is anybody's guess, this equal protect argument, why did they

carve out police officer and fire department, and everyone else is subject to this particular law that is not equal protect, the state of mhigan will sapphire fighters and police are important to our public safety, w is withholding union dues related to safety. >> that part you say could makes it way to a courtroom? >> it could. >> we've seen in ohio and wisconsin, they unkid the limb -- unkid the limited part of the law for collective bargains. >> in wisconsin, the law was thrown out but it was a different law from here in michigan, the michigan law and i first impression for court, we're expecting there will be legal challenges to it. >> james, with all of these new potential legal issues, this is a boom for michigan, right? this opens the doors, you can

hold cocktail companies for parties and say come work in our state? >> right. indiana passed a right-to-work law in february, are they have seen a massive boom could with would locate or expand ined they indiana bause of the right-po-work law, that is not a surprise. foreign automakers, they were built in the right-to-work states, tennessee, south carolina, alabama, and michigan decided they would be competitive, they were not throwing away that advantage. >advance. tracy: they do not affect the labor agreements that include the uaw, i could argue, if i am a company, i don't know which way this could go, maybe i'm too nervous to come to michigan. >> that is a possibility, michigan voters were just asked to vote on the issue.

the unions were nervous about it getting passed. they put up aales on thes on bad voters voted it down, it is career, the supreme court ruled it on constitutionality of right-to-work laws and upheld it every time, there will be a lot of screaming, but at the end of the day workers will have the choice on whether or not theyment to belong to a union, and the unions cannot stop it. tracy: they brought down, the auto industry, and the airlines and heck baseball at one point is, this the beginning of the end? >> this is a long train wreck for the unions right now, this is -- when you think about michigan the pillar of unions, and this particular state, not passing a constitutional amendment that would ave been, great for the unions then losing this particular initiative. the news is not good for the

union workers right now. tracy: and james, tech industries, you see you know, you don't see bill gates or steve jobs, while still alive, working for union workers, the world is changing a little bit, is it still necessary? >> that is the problem that the unions have, they have not changed fundamentally how they represent workers since the 1930s, but the economy has changed. look at union contracts, all senior tie based promotions and pancases. you want performance reviews, and performance based pays and the union makes name possible. tracy: thank you for your sights. >> thank you. tracy: now that michigan is a right-to-work state, is this the beginning of end of uons, a gal up on pole said that mer--

gallup poll said more than half of americans believe. but not just yet. number 5, telecommunications workers, 16% of all unionized. transportation workers 4.5 million, 1 million are unionized. and they earn a third more than nonunion colleagues, and utility workers, 25% of these are union members they earn more than 10 perspir week mor -- per week wo. and number 2, local firefighters and police. 35% belong to unions, and number one most unionized job, teachers. more than 3 million earn 40% of all teachers are unionized.

as a result, they have an additional $200 in their pockets every week, you also have young, fresh teachers pushed out in the coil because of old ones there because of 10 iewr. >> we have -- because of tenure. >> we have a lot more to come, including the fiscal cliff, and more rules and regulations heading down wall street's way, dodd-frank continues to unfold. is there too much red tape? we'll have the details next.

tracy: wall street bracing for full implementation of

tracy: washington is bracing itself f the full implementtation of dodd-frank. but will dodd-frank prevent another financial meltdown, let's ask bart chilton. i know you are testifying tomorrow to report on how it is going with the implementation of dodd-frank how is it going? >> slow but sure, we have not made as much progress as law required. about 400 rules in the government we've done within 35, we'r135, we'reslow but floodingd the rig balance, and g things right, and don't cause a market migration to to other country, and don't create a

devastating havoc on financial firms or markets. tracy: we've seen before with sarbanes-oxley, it became arduous. that can't happen again. >> the systemic risk, the risk to all of us, some people call it, too big to fail. that is the problem in 2008, we lost 9 million jobs, and people lost their homes, that is what we're trying to resolve. tracy: with 400 new rules, do you really think you will prevent another -- if we have -- another financial crisis, there are people out there that are starter than all of us, figuring outweighs to trade around every rule under the son, they do it with the tax code, they will do

to with dodd-frank. >> we need to hire you, you understand they are trying, that but i think it will help, that systemic risk we need to get a handle othere is certainly there will be issues in the future. but we should not have to have a $400 billion hideous bailout because one firm or a couple of firms look like they are goi down. in that regard, we're putting in capital requirement, and margin require. , and requiring things that go through clearing, like through a bank to make sure everyone has their money in pla, they should make better for market ies and better for consumers and better for the economy. tracy: vocal rule is by sticking point a ban on pr -- mayor what

shapiro has been the supporter of that but she is stepping down, where does that stand. >> reason that volcker rule was put into law,ecause some of the banks had been actually betting against their own customers, they urged them to get into a fund, then 1 they were in the fun, the bank took opposite position, there is a dup exty of interest between the bank, the volcker rule would stop that by disallowing the proprietary trading. tracy: i worry most about the fees, that we will be nickeled and dimed to pay for this. the big banks are smart, it will trickle down to us, community banks will get killed. every time we make a trade, we as little people will get hurt. i'm not sure i agree 100%, but you are right that community

banks, they are good banks doi s yoeperson service. and financial sector has made profits every single quarter, since the fall of 2008, and by a lot, they have 0 lobbyists for every member of congress, they spend more month on lobbying than any other sector of the economy. i'm not that concerned about a little bit extra. i do not think that will happen, and we really need to protect the markets better. tracy: but 400 of anything sounds like too much to me. bart chilton thank you for your time. >> thank you, tracy. tracy: although 400 jelly beans is okay, that is all. coming up, we head back to capitol hill for latest on the

fight to avoid the fit call cliff. then we had the to divorce court, since president obama and john boehner are behaving badly, we ask a marriage coun counselow these two crazy kidsan get it all

>> washington fiscal cliff talks raising billions of dollars in november compared to the previous month. it is up, believe it or not, $1.1 trillion coming year-over-year. will this put pressure on the white house and congress to put bispending cuts on the table? let's ask scott garrett of new

jersey and vice-chairman of the budget committee. $1.1 trillion deficit for 2012 budget. that is just not there. >> it is not good. i understand that you're going to have a marriage counselor? [laughter] so i assume the answer is that one of the issues that lead to a breakup is right overspending. that's what we have here. tracy: we are dying to know why we can't get this figured out. >> well, just as in marriage, to solve the problem on spending some you have to sit around a the kitchen table and get open the checkbook. i guess that is the exact same thing that needs to be going on here in washington. speaker boehner has been trying to do that. the money is just flowing out, we will continue to talk about

the legislature and the president has not come to the kitchen table with a real plan. tracy: the crazy part is that we should have been at the kitchen table in september. instead you have eric cantor saying don't make holiday plans, we will be here until the lights go on december 31. >> it actually goes back further than that. for the last two years, republicans have asked this administration to do what you're saying you're going to do very come to grips with your so-called lanced approach. for two years, we have been asking the administration to do that. back from when we pass the budget control act and the so-called super committee. we have been asking the president come to grips with the spending issue. he does a lot of good talking on the tump. maybe you can use your marriage analogy a little further. he has dalliances with special

interest groups. when he comes back to washington, he turned completely off on that issue entirely. >> this notion of spending titlements or spending cuts, -t is going nowhere fast. we just had sheila jackson lee saying don't even talk about this. don't tell anybody hat social security isn't solving. is it a secret? >> was she the one who sent entitlements earned? tracy: yes. >> you have to love those statements remark that's correct. but you realize, i mean, there is a standoff going between both sides right now. >> that is correct. >> there's too much spending going on in washington, and we are here to try to rein on spending in. we have that wh the paul ryan budget and other proposals and we have have that -- we harry had that months ago in july. although all the press is looking at republican house, the

focus of the camera should point to is the senate, who has been totally inactive. they have been able on this issue. they have probably passed a budget for four years, they have not passed a single bill dealing with this issue. the real question should be, mr. harry reid, where even this engagement? tracy: it is a great question. before we go, have asked about the 250,000-dollar complementary on behalf of the resident of new jersey's state, it is really tough. >> it is tough. new jersey is one of the most affluent states and expenses state to be in. but it begs the question that it is not a revenue issue, it is a spending issue. tracy: i really hope that something happens with us. and that 250,000 is not offered lots of our families are going to get question. cumbersome, and it didn't time. >> i appreate it. tracy: still to come, beating

the street with your investment. up next, house leaders warning their members that they may have to stain washington through christmas. lou dobbs is in the house coming up next and he will give us his opinions.

tracy: these days, the leaders of congress reminded of an old married couple. >> yes, you are the most optimistic person in this town. we have some serious differences. >> tell us what you want, that's what i say to them. the one i want a lake house. [laughter]

not to mention comedies irreconcilable differences is why washington remains oceans apart in capabilities to strike a deal. the divorce court is here to help. vicki ziegler, author of the complete legal guide to a perfect marriage. it is kind of what it sounds like. she says nobody wants to give in. he puts her head in the sand coming of a staunch approach. you have these nonstarters great and you say, what is going to happen? are we going to go up the fiscal cliff? ist a mountain or a clip? somebody has to do something. >> everyone is fighting over tax incrses and tax hikes.

i get that. we need to find something they agree on. we need to take the pieces of the puzzle into them together. tracy: yes, they end up using every dollar that they have and there is nothing left at the end of the day. it is almost how we feel is the american people watching us. they are just waiting our money while they are fighting. >> where has everyone been the last two years? that is the biggest problem. can you get to economize everyone feels okay with? a really good compromise from both parties is important. it is an actual compromise. an amicable resolve. i think sitting here watching the news, sitting in sending an agreement, who knows what would happen? time is ticking. tracy: have there been any glaring mistakes that they have

made in the compromising proces >> well, i think that people are coming from a viewer standpoint, they are saying, okay, if you're not showing all your cards. we were going behind closed doors to negotiate. but we want transparency and we want to see what is going on. sometimes there are tough issues. complex issues. it is not exactly if you want the house or not. very complicated matters. sometimes you have to go behind closed doors and knock them out. sometimes it is best if we don't. in the grand scheme, we need to really know what's going on. that is one issue. tracy: many argue we don't know what's going on right now about. >> yes, we are on an overload of information. if there is no resolution on december 31, major impacts all of us.

you also want to be in position the position to say that i'm going to step back and i don't know if other side can come together about this. at the end of it, can i resolve this? never believed that. tracy: it means we go to the fiscal cliff. this is why you are so good at what you do. thank you. don't forget a better question tonight. this covers the counseling? i think we need attorneys. logons gerriwillis.com below. all right, the fiscal cliff and something only congress can do that we have lou dobbs easy with us now. it is actually a good comedy.

the nero reference is wrong. all the drama here. is it a shakespearean play? lou: i mean, hands flailing -- many of the sentences that attached to the one that preceded. it is great political theater if you like farce. that is what we are witnessing here. the house speaker today saying that at least at the end of the day, we have some serious problems and that he and the president are separated by the seris problems. as if this were a newsflash for the international news media. we have some problems, and they are going to start on the first of january. it is pretty clear that the president wants to go over the fiscal cliff. speaker boehner, i think, is right to say that your ultimatum. you eat it, it's your deal. we will let it all play out.

tracy: deep into the root of all this is political discorin general. but all everyone thinks about is the next vote. speaker boehner thinking about his reelection. no one is thinking about the bigger cause. it is really about those things. lou: i would agree with part of that. one thing the one thing people are forgetting, the best deal on the table, sequestration. point of fact. the $1.2 trillion in force budget cuts on the defense department. plus the bush tax cuts. it means we are approaching the 2 trillion-dollar shock to the system. it is the best deal in transit at maximum of maximum spending cuts. the president is talking about two to one. twice as much tax hike is spending cuts. this inverted, it's the best

deal for the republicans, both parties and the president agree, and they can't win anybody if we go ovethe fiscal cliff because that was the deathat they made. tracy: yes, it is crazy. i'm sure you will be talking about it. when you have coming up? >> we have john silva, chief economist at wells fargo to talk about what the new year holds in store for us in the economy. irrespective of the fiscal cliff, we are going to have $270 billion in tax hikes that start effective january 1. thank you, obamacare. nancy pelosi has said that if you want to find out what's in it, just pass it. we are finding out and we are going to have a terrific group of people, including john cruz, the vice president of hsbc, who is the whistleblower on the $1.9 billion in fines if they just had to pay for money laundering along with middle eastern terroris. mexican drug cartels, african dictators, all of the really nice people tht they had no idea where problem. by the way, nobody going to jail will be taking that up.

we will have coming up next. tracy: all right, "lou dobbs tonight" at 7:00 p.m. and :00 p.m. eastern. when we come back, how to beat the street. covering your assets with tips with picking winners on wall street. stay with us

.racy: earnings season kicks off

tracy: where has the time gone?

earnings season kicks off in less than a month from now. here with advice on how to pick stocks for earnings, we have the author of the options handbook. before we get intoall that, why is all this uncertainty going on? we have to talk about this market has been on a tear. >> there is a big economy. there is almost and even divide in both sies of wall street. once i think that it's going to be a horrible year. the other side thinks that this is going to be an agreement and everything will be hunky dory and we will move on. brinkley, this is actually kind of our conversation about earnings. earnings are at the forefront of the market. right now is the as the markets have been going up, it is basically like them saying that i haveeen doing great in

school and the earnings season is when you get to see the report card. that little johnny do the right thing. the analysts are telling us as we move along with the teachers are getting a checkup. they are sticking by, holding out their outlooks. right now, i think the people don't know. the market doesn't move much. they came back to where it was at that time. not a lot of movement. a lot of volatility. >> i hear what you're saying. thankfully, we arecoming back to fundamentals again. we were trading on nonsense for a while. our companies are stronger and more so than they have ever been. but there are a lot of people that worry. this season could be sketchy. people might not be shopping because of consumer confidence issues. you know, companies not spending and not expanding. are you worried about this with earnings season? >> i am a little bit. you brought up a good point.

earnings estimates have come down. in other words, people have really baked in all of this mumbo-jumbo. they said, all rght, moving in 2013, we are prepared for almost the worst. that gives us an advantage. if you want to look for it as a consumer, as an investor, you can target companies that are more likely to surprise. that is something that i talked about in terms of the analysts. what you need to do this. it is very simple for the basic everyday investor. don't worry about the most upgrades. look over the analysts arguing collectively. they are all moving in unison, moving up their estimates, that is a good thing. the next thing you want to do is have an earnings announcement in a particular analyst jumps up above the consensus -- he jumps and that is a substantial move.

the stocks are going to move higher. >> okay,analysts getting back behind an apparently you are to? >> yes dan, there a great in the middle story. they report on the eight next week. we are looking at sanderson farms, a nice start on your. farms, a nice start on your. tracy: thank you so [ male announcer ] at scottrade, you won't just find us online, you'll also find us in person, with dedicated support teams at over 500 branches nationwide. so when you call or visit,

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tracy: there are still some serious differences, that is the assessment from house speaker

john boehner, saying he and president obama have their work cut out for them, is it time to get counselling, here is what some are tweeting the show jason said, congress members are all spoiled and bratty kids, they need a firm hand to their back side, they should get paid for what they get done, no more salary. >> they need to get their heads out of politics and do what is right for the country. >> and does congress need counselling? 90% said yes, 10% said no. must have beenheir parents,. >> dave writes, medicare and social security are retirement programs we've been paying into for 40 years. >> i am 73 years old, and am sick of off